[Drucilla]

Thanks, Pattye, this place is great for learning, but it still takes a while, doesn't it.

(the "stellara" was a typo for stellar reputation--someone had said they checked the ebay seller's rep, and got good feedback, but I'm not so sure about the ebay sales. It looks like the "too good to be true" deal, and I know too little)

[Cathybear]

It can go either way. I bought a very pretty lilac keshi cfwp necklace from My Ebuy (Chinese seller) and I've found their goods to be as good as their photos, a necklace and loose keshi's from Pearllunar.. lovely lustre and surfaces but smaller than they sounded. I bought from another seller and what came was rubbish, nothing like the beautiful photo they had. I now buy loose pearls as I'm getting ones better than any I'd bought strung, and make my own. I don't even feel tempted any more

[J Marcus]

Originally Posted by Sueki

I buy on ebay regularly.
There are thousands of good, honest sellers there, some of whom are on here, too.
Of course there are bad sellers too; but I do believe that the good outnumber the bad.

Ooo-o-h-h-h Sueki--Tell you what: just do an eBay search with the key words "natural pearl" and see what comes up. Then let us see you make that same statement with a straight face!

I too have been using eBay for many years and I almost always do well with it. However, I have some very strict guidelines concerning these auctions. First--Believe nothing up front. Then: If I have even a 5% suspicion that something is wrong I don't bother with it; Do your homework!! I can't stress this enough! Check out the seller's feedback, educate yourself about the item you're buying, and ask all important questions--assume nothing; I never buy if it would hurt to have "blown" the money unless I have excellant knowledge and experience with the seller; read the text carefully for what it actually says, not what you'd like to read and learn to read "between the lines"; Look very, very carefully at the photo's (you don't buy without seeing good photos do you?) If they don't show what you need to see you can assume there's a reason for that; Never buy in haste!! I almost never bid on something that is going off auction in a day or less; If it's not such a great bargain that it will be a very good buy even if it's not what it's supposed to be then it's not worth the risk; Figure out what the item is worth to you versus the risk you're taking and stick with that number! Don't be afraid to lose the bidding. If you can't do that, then you're better off not buying on eBay or resign yourself to occasional (or perhaps more often?) buyers remorse.

The doubts expressed by Pearlsintime are another good example of the reason that I think that eBay might even increase sales and profits if they did a better job of policing their site. I think these fears are far more widespread than most imagine and keep great numbers of potential customers from buying on eBay--especially with more pricey items. They just don't feel safe about it.

Marc
http://www.flyrodjewelry.com/home.html

[pearlescence]

eBay is just like any other auction - real or virtual. The buyer must beware. There are two categories of lots in any auction - must haves, for which you just put your hand up and leave it there, and the maybe, would be nices, for which you have a price and stick to it.
And I have bought property at auction - scariest thing I have ever done with my clothes on.....<wink>

[callire]

Everyone else has mentioned good points, but it's imperative that you understand the way Paypal and filing claims works. I buy almost everything on eBay (designer clothes, DVDs, sunglasses, school supplies, and yes, sometimes pearls). Since eBay changed its policies regarding feedback, auctions have never been safer for buyers and more dangerous for sellers. Paypal almost always sides with buyers (claims for misrepresented items, delivery issues, etc). In fact, about 90-95% of auctions that I see for pearls (since most are located internationally) would be an easy claim-win for buyers. Buy pearls, wait for the extremely slow shipping, file an "item not received" claim, and with no tracking (even with tracking- doesn't recognize some carriers and don't get me started on DC), seller has no proof, buyer's win, and full refund plus item. With no negative feedback option for buyers, buyers can easily defraud pearl sellers. eBay also started this nifty little thing of giving out coupons to "random" accounts (although I highly suspect they use them to try and entice buyers who have filed disputes to re-buy), they're even rewarding this sort of behavior.

Bottom line: know how paypal works, and you've got eBay and Paypal on your side for almost any purchase. Most sellers either don't know this stuff or simply don't take measures to protect themselves.

On another note, I've been very happy with druzydesigns.

[gemologist]

I buy strands on ebay, but I generally never pay more than $2 per strand shipped. At that price quality isn't an issue, but it gives me a challange to make fun, interesting FW strands I can sell for $10 and still make a profit.


Actually, I don't have any for sale as of yet, but perhaps I will make a photo album.

I would hardly risk buying anything good quality on ebay, it is hard to make a profit on anything on ebay honestly anymore. I saw a strand last night that called itself tahitian, but I have never seen tahitians that shape, although I have some FWs that are

[gemologist]

Originally Posted by callire

Everyone else has mentioned good points, but it's imperative that you understand the way Paypal and filing claims works. I buy almost everything on eBay (designer clothes, DVDs, sunglasses, school supplies, and yes, sometimes pearls). Since eBay changed its policies regarding feedback, auctions have never been safer for buyers and more dangerous for sellers. Paypal almost always sides with buyers (claims for misrepresented items, delivery issues, etc). In fact, about 90-95% of auctions that I see for pearls (since most are located internationally) would be an easy claim-win for buyers. Buy pearls, wait for the extremely slow shipping, file an "item not received" claim, and with no tracking (even with tracking- doesn't recognize some carriers and don't get me started on DC), seller has no proof, buyer's win, and full refund plus item. With no negative feedback option for buyers, buyers can easily defraud pearl sellers. eBay also started this nifty little thing of giving out coupons to "random" accounts (although I highly suspect they use them to try and entice buyers who have filed disputes to re-buy), they're even rewarding this sort of behavior.

Bottom line: know how paypal works, and you've got eBay and Paypal on your side for almost any purchase. Most sellers either don't know this stuff or simply don't take measures to protect themselves.

On another note, I've been very happy with druzydesigns.

Very true. There is absolutly no risk if you pay via paypal and aren't lazy about things. On the other hand, buyers literally are blackmailing the sellers to get good feedback. They may not be doing so on purpose, but personally I would rather give someone a refund and let the keep the pearls than have someone neg me saying I was scamming.

Bottom line though, people who are selling from China are not selling their best product online, I guarantee it. People (some who post here) go there personally and buy the best stuff, and the difference in quality that would make a good deal of difference in price doesn't show well no matter how well the thing is lit. You would need a high-res movie to show that sort of thing.

Plus the ebay fees are crazy, so you have to pay for that, (usually done with shipping fee packing)

Basically, if you want to be sure you are getting the best deal on ebay, just make sure they arent a newbie on ther with less than 20 feedback and you'll be fine.